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Lafler & Baude Win 16s, Lady Titans Take Fourth Trapshoot Title

Nebraska Game and Parks Commission

DONIPHAN, Neb. --(Ammoland.com)- Sophomore Aaron Lafler of Lincoln Pius shot a perfect 100 to take the individual crown in the 16-yard targets of the senior high division at the 42nd Cornhusker Trapshoot on Friday.

Lafler, 15, accomplished his feat despite gusting winds that came and went. He said timing was everything.

“I just got lucky,” he said. “I’ve shot 100 straight before. This really isn’t as abnormal as you think, but these aren’t the greatest conditions, either. You’ve got to shoot quicker.”

Jacqueline Baude of Papillion-LaVista South won the girls’ individual title, but she and fellow seniors Melissa Harnack, Taylor Holzer, Marisa Braddock won their fourth straight girls’ team title.

Baude said her 96X100 in the 16s was a byproduct of teamwork. “We’ve always had a mentality of team first,” she said. “We just keep plugging along.”

It’s a good thing. The Lady Titans No. 1 team that also included freshman Bailey Kustka needed to plug along. “We didn’t get off to the best start but closed out really well,” Baude said. “We missed the first two or three birds out, then started to get used to the wind. We did a lot better in the second 50 (rocks) than the first 50.”

The team finished with a 432X500.

The Cornhusker Trapshoot, held at the Nebraska Trapshooting Association (NTA) home grounds, concluded this past Saturday with senior high handicap competition and the presentation of the Cornhusker Cup to the overall winner.

There are 1,216 shooters competing in the senior high division.

The Cornhusker Trapshoot is hosted by the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission and the NTA.

Friday’s results in the 16-yard competition are:

• Top 10 Individuals – 1. Aaron Lafler, Lincoln Pius, 100X100; 2. Cody Newlun, Hastings 4-H, 97X100; 3. Caleb Goedeken, Thayer Central, 97X100; 4. Mitch Cassels, Omaha Creighton Prep, 96X100; 5. Matthew Fero, Grand Island, 96X100; 6. Tyler Merry, Norris, 96X100; 7. Logan Ritz, Stanton 4-H, 96X100; 8. Grant Rogers, Wilber-Clatonia 4-H, 96X100; 9. James Vasko, Omaha Creighton Prep, 96X100; 10. Nick Yardley, Gordon-Rushville, 96X100.
• Top Three Girls – 1. Jacqueline Baude, Papillion-LaVista South, 96X100; 2. Becky Wessel, Stanton 4-H, 95X100; 3. Mavis Morgan, Lincoln Southwest, 95X100.
• Top Three 4-H Teams – 1. Republican Valley No. 1 (Eli VanBoening, Shane Kohmetsher, Trenton Jordening, Blake Brumbaugh, Kelly Faimon), 448X500; 2. Karp and Krow No. 1, 440X500; 3. Red Cloud No. 1, 434X500.
• Top Three Girls Teams – 1. Papillion-LaVista Lady Titans No. 1 (Melissa Harnack, Taylor Holzer, Bailey Kustka, Marisa Braddock, Jacqueline Baude), 432X500; 2. Lincoln Southwest Pink, 430X500; 3. Omaha Marian Blue, 400X500.
• Top Six Teams – 1. Omaha Creighton Prep Blue (Mitch Cassels, Ryan Glow, James Vasko, Nick Zuerlin, Mark Stockdale), 460X500; 2. Lincoln Southwest Gold, 457X500; 3. Norris No. 1, 454X500; 4. Papillion-LaVista Titan No. 1, 452X500; 5. Papillion-LaVista Titan No. 2, 450X500; 6. Crete Red, 450X500.

Jim Carlisle Memorial Second Generation Individual (traveling trophy) – Aaron Lafler, Lincoln Pius

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Nebraska Grand Island Shooter Got Early Start

Nebraska Game and Parks Commission

DONIPHAN, Neb. --(Ammoland.com)- Cory Sorahan of Grand Island had a painful introduction to shooting sports. On the other hand, she was just a fourth-grader and the shotgun she shot packed a wallop.

From that experience at Walnut Junior High’s outdoor field day, Sorahan took to shooting sports, despite her first impression. “I was done; it hurt so badly,” she said of her first experience. “But I knew it wouldn’t be like that all the time.”

“She told me she wanted to shoot those orange things,” said her aunt, Michelle Sorahan, with whom Cory lives. “I said ‘You mean blue rocks?’ She said, ‘No, they are orange.’ “

Now the 15-year-old sophomore is a veteran in her fifth season competing at the 42nd Cornhusker Trapshoot. On Friday she shot an 87X100 at 16-yard targets during competition in the senior high division.

Her squad on Friday included four boys. She is used to competing with boys.

“She irritates the boys,” said Jack Wiese, a Ducks Unlimited member from Grand Island and the person who taught Sorahan how to shoot.

Wiese taught Sorahan how to shoot with the discipline he learned as a decorated member of the U.S. Marine Corps. “She has natural talent,” he said. “She doesn’t have any bad habits. She just doesn’t miss.”

Sorahan didn’t miss much last year when she finished second in the 20-21 yard individual handicap division at the Cornhusker Trapshoot.

On that night back in the fourth grade, Sorahan won in a drawing a membership into the Ducks Unlimited Green Wings program for youth shooters. That’s when Wiese took her under his wing.

Sorahan didn’t care that there were few girls her age shooting. “It’s something a lot of girls didn’t do at the time, so it was something, like the boys, I could do,” she said.

“It’s not about winning; it’s about shooting against people and making them think they have to be better than you.”

Sorahan has a lifetime of trapshooting to look forward to now.

“That’s another reason that I like to shoot trap,” she said. “You can’t play basketball your whole life, but you can shoot your whole life.”

And at least two more Cornhusker Trapshoots.

“Boys and girls of all ages are taking up shooting sports as a hobby,” Shoot Director Terry Brentzel said. “It is getting easier to do that, too, because there are so many opportunities available to get started. There are hunter education courses, live-fire programs, school programs, and mentored hunts available, as well as a number of excellent shooting ranges.”

Contact the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission for more information on learning how to shoot.

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